Noretta
Recap Future Ted recounts that in the fall of 2011, all of his friends were in a relationship, and remarks that with Barney's brother James in town, it made their MacLaren's booth very crowded. In MacLaren's Pub, Barney tells the gang that tonight, after two months, he and Nora will finally sleep together, since she offered him a "special surprise" that night. However, as the night unfolds, several disasters take place that threaten to ruin the night. Nora loses a tooth while ice-skating, has a rat attack her on the streets of New York, and witnesses a suicide jumper off the roof of Barney's apartment building. However, despite all this, and Barney's worries that the night was ruined, the two of them still sleep together for the first time. Back at MacLaren's, James Stinson expresses concerns that Nora is just like his Mom, Loretta Stinson. Kevin mentions that it's not uncommon to date people similar to your parents. This causes a problem between Marshall and Lily. Lily feels she's not sexy anymore due to her pregnancy. This prompts Marshall to create a sensual board game, to help her feel sexy again. Lily's dad, Mickey Aldrin, is the only other person she knows that is as enthusiastic about board games as Marshall is. Remembering what Kevin said at the bar, Lily can't help but start thinking of Marshall as her Dad, completely ruining all the romantic things Marshall is trying to do. On the other hand, Marshall realizes that Lily is just like his dad, further ruining the night. Meanwhile, Kevin is concerned that Robin and Ted are too close, especially considering they are roommates and have a complicated past. Robin claims that she's only being particularly nice to Ted because he's so fragile; despite his desire to be married, he's currently single, and all his friends are dating. When Kevin confronts Ted, Ted tries to hold up a strong front, but eventually breaks down and reveals how vulnerable he is right now. Kevin takes pity on him and agrees to go to a Weird Al Yancovic concert with him, and the two become closer. Continuity *This episode features many members of the gang's families as returning characters, including James Stinson, Loretta Stinson, Mickey Aldrin, Marvin Eriksen Sr. and Virginia Mosby. *Marshall pats Ted on the shoulder, when James remarks that Barney has slept with plenty of people's mothers. Barney previously expressed interest in sleeping with Ted's Mom in and , revealing they've kissed before. *Kevin mentions his mother's favoritism towards his brother, an issue he previously brought up with Robin in . *Marshall creates a board game for Lily, and scenes from , and are played, showing the previous games Marshall and Mickey Aldrin had created (Diseases, Marshgammon, Dog Fight Promoter and Lilial Pursuit). *Ted calls several people when looking for someone to attend a Weird Al Yankovic concert. These people are: Stuart, Claudia, Brad, Natalie, Trudy, Ranjit, Carl the Bartender, his Mom and Clint. *Barney's love of magic makes another appearance, as he makes a row of condoms appear and disappear up his sleeve. *Barney is still wearing the Ducky Tie. Gallery :For a listing of all images on the wiki tagged as being from this episode, see Category:Noretta images. : Noretta8.jpg Noretta6.jpg Noretta5.jpg Noretta4.jpg Noretta3.jpg Noretta2.jpg Noretta7.jpg Noretta1.jpg noretta1233.jpg noretta23.jpg noretta33.jpg noretta44.png noretta55.jpg noretta66.jpg noretta77.jpg noretta88.jpg Memorable Quotes Notes and Trivia Goofs and Errors *In the end scene where we see a flashback of Weird Al Yankovic receiving fan mail from a young Ted, it is mentioned in Ted's letter that he was eight years old. It is widely believed that Ted was born in 1978, so at the time of the flashback on February 21, 1985, he would have been at most seven years old. *The TV screen taking up the entire side wall in Barney's apartment, as seen in , is no longer there. *Lily is seen eating on bed, but in Twin Beds, Lily forbade eating on bed because of ants. Allusions and Outside References *Marshall quotes the movie Jaws, saying "We're going to need a bigger booth.". *Weird Al Yankovic makes an appearance, and Ted mentions that several of his songs. *Loretta is a Julie Andrews fan. She and Nora sing "My Favorite Things" from The Sound of Music. *Ted has a documentary film about coin collecting that he says was directed by the actor who played Argyle in Die Hard. No such film actually exists. Music "My Favorite Things" from "The Sound of Music" Other Notes Guests *Wayne Brady - James Stinson *Frances Conroy - Loretta Stinson *Chris Elliot - Mickey Aldrin *Bill Fagerbakke - Marvin Eriksen Sr. *Weird Al Yankovic - Himself *Kal Penn - Kevin *Nazanin Boniadi - Nora Reception Donna Bowman of The AV Club gave the episode a B. Angel Cohn of Television Without Pity gave this episode a C References External Links *''Noretta'' on SpoilerTV.com *